Method of settling fluent and like material in a form

ABSTRACT

A method or process for settling fluent material, such as concrete, in a form to provide, for example, a slab, including the provision of an elongated form to which is rigidly affixed a track substantially coextensive in length with the form and moving a vibrator to selected positions along the track without removing the vibrator from the track, the vibrator being of the automatic clamping type which effectuates a vibrator-to-track clamp upon energizing of the vibrator.

United States Patent 1 [111 3,888,960

Fischer 1 June 10, 1975 [54] METHOD OF SETTLING FLUENT AND 1.945.145 1/1934 Gordon 264/71 LIKE MATERIAL IN A FORM Inventor: Peter Augustus Fischer, Neponset,

lll.

Assignec: Martin Engineering Co.. Neponset.

Filed: Dec. 28, 1973 Appl. No.: 429,362

Related US. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 353,995. April 24. 1973. Pat. No. 3.839.918.

US. Cl 264/71; 404/113 int. Cl B28b l/08 Field of Search 264/71. 72, 69. 70;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Lowell 425/432 X Primary ExaminerRobert F. White Assistant Examiner-Thomas P. Pavelko [57] ABSTRACT A method or process for settling fluent material. such as concrete, in a form to provide, for example, a slab. including the provision of an elongated form to which is rigidly affixed a track substantially coextensive in length with the form and moving a vibrator to selected positions along the track without removing the vibrator from the track, the vibrator being of the automatic clamping type which effectuates a vibrator-to-track clamp upon energizing of the vibrator.

8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures METHOD OF SETTLING FLUENT AND LIKE MATERIAL IN A FORM CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED CASE This application is a division of copending application Ser. No. 353,995, filed Apr. 24, 1973 now US. Pat. No. 3,839,918, issued Oct. 8, 1974.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use of vibrators for compacting, settling, accelerating flow, etc. of fluent and like materials is well known. Because structures to be vibrated are often of substantial size, the vibratory effects must be applied thereto over widely separated areas. This means that either several vibrators must be used or that fewer vibrators be used interchangeably from one position to others. The latter option has been that more commonly exploited and various systems have been devised for mounting and remounting the vibrators. In a simple system, the vibrator is welded to its initial location, cut loose and re-welded to a new location. In other systems, the structure to be vibrated is initially provided with several fixed mounts and a single vibrator is selectively changed from mount to mount as circumstances require.

Any of these methods involves considerable time, effort and expense, which will be obvious in the case of weld and re-weld. In the mount and re-mount system, the vibrator mount must be specially designed (see US. Pat. No. 3,003,733 to Peterson, for example), as must the base of the vibrator. Several removable parts are involved. So far as is known, no provision has been made for using a simple elongated track, affixed to the structure, along which the vibrator may be selectively positioned, and automatically locked, without removal from the track.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present method, an elongated track system is utilized, employing a track means affixed to the structure to be vibrated and along which one or more vibrators may be moved to new positions without clear removal from the track means. In the first place, this eliminates handling of the weight of the vibrator. Secondly, a new position or positions may be achieved by simply sliding the vibrator along the track. Combined with tracks of special configuration are base means on the vibrator or vibrators which interfit with the track means, and this relationship is used to exploit a self-clamping feature of the vibrator; that is, a clamp means that automatically locks the vibrator to the track means in its selected position substantially simultaneously with activation of the vibrator. Conversely,

when the vibrator is deactivated, the clamp means is unlocked. These features are of special importance where the structure to be vibrated is quite long, as in the casting of concrete slabs, beams'etc in which case the configured track maybe made as long as the form,

whether straight, curved or otherwise. Consequently, a

single vibrator may be used with a single track. The inpandable between thevibrator and the track for locking the former to the latter, thus making the vibrator self-clamping.

In addition to the advantages accruing in the form of economy, efficiency, simplicity etc. is that flowing from the avoidance of fatigue in the structure or object being vibrated, because vibration rarely occurs more than once at the same point on the structure or object.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The structure to be vibrated isdesignated at 10 in broken lines in FIG. 1, and chosen here for purposes of illustration is a form for the casting of a double-T" concrete slab or beam, the slab" part being formed in the upper area 12 and the depending legs" of the T occurring in the areas 14. The structure or form is conventionally of steel and is of substantial length, not uncommonly on the order of several hundred feet long. By way of example, there is shown at side of the form 10 a track means 16 coextensive in length, extent, etc. with the side of the form. This track or track means, in one form of the'in vention, includes a channel 18, rigidly affixed to the sideof the form 10 as by welding at several points or even continuously along the length of the form. The channel 18 has across web 20 which, in

cooperation with a pair of steel angles 22, forms an outwardly facing channel of which the web 20 is the bottom and the flanges 24 of the angles form inturned por-' tions facing but spaced apart from each other cross-- wise of the length of the form and track.

A rotary vibrator 26 has a base 28, the side portions of whichinterfit or interengage with the track flanges 24. From the description thus'far, and without more, it will be seen that the vibrator 26 is slidable or repositionable along the track means 16 without removal therefrom. It is also seen that the dimensions of the vibrator are such that the vibrator occupies only a relatively small-portion of the track. The vibrator may be I of the air-operated','rotary type typical of those dis- The details, not important here, are available in the closed in US. Pat. Nos. 2,917,290 and 3,076,346 to I Peterson and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,318,163 to Matson. Such vibrator features a housing having an inner an- I nular chamber 30 within which a circular rotor 32 is ec- "centrically carried. A port 34 is receivable of air under pressure to drive the rotor 32 in its orbit within the chamber 30. An air discharge port is provided at 35.

above patents.

The vibrator has a bottom 36, attachable by pins 38, and providing a bottom chamber 40. The bottom is welded or otherwise affixed to the plate or base 28, the latter of which is ported at 42 and supplemented by annular necks 44 to communicate respectively with a pair of inflatable pancakes or elastomer envelopes 46, here shown as being circular (FIG. 3). The envelopes 46 are respectively confined in part by arcuate ribs 48 and in part by the angles 22 (FIG. 6) and, when inflated, expand between the web 20 and the vibrator to cause the plate or base portions 28 to positively engage the undersides of the overhanging flanges 24, thus locking the vibrator 26 to the track means 16.

For the purpose of inflating or activating the clamp means afforded by the inflatable envelopes 46 and at the same time activating or operating the vibrator, the air power source for the vibrators (here a typical pressure pump P) is interconnected so that the two functions occur simultaneously or substantially so. See FIGS. 2 and 5.

It has been previously explained that the chamber 30 is pressurized by the port 34 and that the envelopes or pancakes 46 are pressurized via the chamber 40 and ports 42. It remains only to connect the chamber 40 to the port 34, and this is done by passages 50 and 52 in the vibrator 26 and external conduit means 56 connected at one end to the port 34 and at its other end at 58 to the passages 50 and 52 and to an inlet line 60 which is in turn connected to the pump P via a remotely located valve V (FIG. Thus, when the vibrator 26 is activated or pressurized by the pump P (via the valve V), the clamp means 46 is also activated, and, when the vibrator is running or operative, the clamp means is effective or activated to lock the vibrator to the track means 16. When the valve V is operated to discontinue pressure to the vibrator, it also shuts off pressure to the clamp means 46, meaning that the idle vibrators are unlocked from the track means-but do not separate therefrom and may be repositioned along the track.

In the most simplistic form of the invention, the vibrator, used singly, may be manually shifted to a new position. This alone is an advantage over the known prior art, because the vibrator remains in the tracki.e., does not have to be dismounted and may be easily slid to a new position and thus does not have to be lifted; no removable parts are involved, etc.

In a more sophisticated improvement, the vibrator 26 may be moved manually by a leader means, such as a cable 62 to which a suitable handle (not shown) may be connected, but, by way of a further improvement, the movement of the vibrator along the track may be accomplished by power, as by a winch 64 (FIG. 5) around which the cable 62 is wrapped. Still'further, a plurality of vibrators 26 may be used (FIGS. 1 and 5) and the leading vibrator (closest to the winch 64) may be connected to the trailing vibrator or vibrators by connecting means such as a cable 66. Where plural vibrators are used, appropriate air pressure lines may be employed, as at 68 (FIG. 5). Thus, the plural vibrators are controlled simultaneously; i.e., they are activated and deactivated at the same time, as are their respective clamping or locking means.

FIG. 4 shows a modified form of track means 16a which features an integral or one-piece construction in which a web 20a has in-turned flanges 24a. This element may be affixed directly to the form or to an element such as that at 18. In either event, the additional form of track means is provided for carrying out the invention.

If desired, the winch 64 may be interconnected with the vibrator and clamp means control so that, when the vibrators are idle and the clamp means is released, the

winch advances the vibrator(s) a predetermined amount and at that point the winch stops and the vibrator(s) and clamp means are activated again.

Referring again to the track means 16 or 16a, it should be understood that the side mounting shown in FIG. 1 is exemplary and that either channel, or combinations thereof or their equivalents could be otherwise mounted on the form 10 as to location. For example, noting the area marked 15 in FIG. 1, it can be seen that either channel could be turned from their respective positions and mounted along the center lower part of the form 10 so as to be more closely proximate to and between the stems 14. Actually, several channels could be used at the sametime, depending upon the size, nature, etc. of the form or other structure to be treated.

A significant advantage of the track means is that it lends itself admirably to integrating itself with and thus adding strength and rigidity to form or other structure. For example, the track may be welded along its entire length to the form as suggested at 21 in FIG. 4 and as referred to earlier with respect to FIG. 1. In this way, vibration is imparted to the entire form and hot spots or areas of extremely intense vibrations are avoided, thus improving the final product. Hot spots are the result of localized vibration pulling fines to the surface of the product, identifiable by dark areas in the concrete. This is objectionable from an architectural standpoint as well as from the quality and strength standpoints. To understand this, one must recognize the forces involved. For example, it is common to employ vibrators in the range if 8,000 to 12,000 vibrations per minute with anywhere from 0.8 to 2 lb. in. eccentricity. These forces are quite large and are difficult to control with prior means of attachment.

I claim:

1. The method of settling a fluent or like material in an elongated form, comprising: rigidly attaching to the form an elongated track substantially coextensive in length with the form, mounting a selectively activatible and deactivatible vibrator on the track by means of a selectively lockable and releasable male-female connection enabling positioning of the vibrator along the track without dismounting thereof from the track, operating the vibrator and connection substantially in unison to activate the vibrator and lock the connection and to deactivate the vibrator and release the connection, and successively activating and deactivating the vibrator while respectively locking and releasing the connection to enable selective positioning of the vibrator lengthwise along the track, and repositioning the vibrator at selected positions spaced apart lengthwise of the track during periods of deactivation of the vibrator and release of the connection.

2. The method according to claim 1, in which the form includes a plurality of structural members, comprising the further step of providing a like plurality of similar tracks and similarly mounting at least one vibrator as aforesaid in each track by a connection as above and successively operating the vibrator and connections as above.

3. The method according to claim 1, including the further step of providing for the operation of the vibrator and connection by remote control means.

4. The method according to claim 1, including the further step of providing at least a second vibrator in the track in closely spaced relation to the first-named vibrator, providing the second vibrator with a connection as aforesaid, interconnecting the vibrators and connections for activation and deactivation in unison, and connecting the vibrators in tandem for movement together along the track when deactivated.

5. The method according to claim 4, including the further step of starting the vibrators adjacent to one end of the track and providing means adjacent to the other end of the track and connected to the vibrators for advancing same along the track in unison.

6. The method according to claim 1, including the male-female connection as a channel cross-section on the track and cooperating flange means on the vibrator.

7. The method according to claim 6, including providing the operating means as a fluid-expansible and -retractible device and providing the vibrator as the type activatible and deactivatible according to increase and decrease in fluid pressure, respectively.

8. The method of settling a fluent or like material in an elongated structure, comprising: rigidly attaching to the structure an elongated track substantially coextensive in length with the structure, mounting a selectively activatible and deactivatible vibrator in the track by means of a selectively lockable and releasable interlocking connectors, activating and deactivating the vibrator in a starting position while locking same to the track, and moving the vibrator, while unlocked from and retained by the track, from said starting position through an infinite number of other positions along the track and locking andactivating the vibrator at each of said positions. 

1. The method of settling a fluent or like material in an elongated form, comprising: rigidly attaching to the form an elongated track substantially coextensive in length with the form, mounting a selectively activatible and deactivatible vibrator on the track by means of a selectively lockable and releasable male-female connection enabling positioning of the vibrator along the track without dismounting thereof from the track, operating the vibrator and connection substantially in unison to activate the vibrator and lock the connection and to deactivate the vibrator and release the connection, and successively activating and deactivating the vibrator while respectively locking and releasing the connection to enable selective positioning of the vibrator lengthwise along the track, and repositioning the vibrator at selected positions spaced apart lengthwise of the track during periods of deactivation of the vibrator and release of the connection.
 2. The method according to claim 1, in which the form includes a plurality of structural members, comprising the further step of providing a like plurality of similar tracks and similarly mounting at least one vibrator as aforesaid in each track by a connection as above and successively operating the vibrator and connections as above.
 3. The method according to claim 1, including the further step of providing for the operation of the vibrator and connection by remote control means.
 4. The method according to claim 1, including the further step of providing at least a second vibrator in the track in closely spaced relation to the first-named vibrator, providing the second vibrator with a connection as aforesaid, interconnecting the vibrators and connections for activation and deactivation in unison, and connecting the vibrators in tandem for movement together along the track when deactivated.
 5. The method according to claim 4, including the further step of starting the vibrators adjacent to one end of the track and providing means adjacent to the other end of the track and connected to the vibrators for advancing same along the track in unison.
 6. The method according to claim 1, including the male-female connection as a channel cross-section on the track and cooperating flange means on the vibrator.
 7. The method according to claim 6, including providing the operating means as a fluid-expansible and -retractible device and providing the vibrator as the type activatible and deactivatible according to increase and decrease in fluid pressure, respectively.
 8. The method of settling a fluent or like material in an elongated structure, comprising: rigidly attaching to the structure an elongated track substantially coextensive in length with the structure, mounting a selectively activatible and deactivatible vibrator in the track by means of a selectively lockable and releasable interlocking connectors, activating and deactivating the vibrator in a starting position while locking same to the track, and moving the vibrator, whilE unlocked from and retained by the track, from said starting position through an infinite number of other positions along the track and locking and activating the vibrator at each of said positions. 